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Joe Francis

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Bad boy flesh peddler: Joe Francis

Through his blockbuster series of "Girls Gone Wild" videos, Francis combines the old school charm of a San Fernando Valley pornographer with the mainstream acceptance of Hugh Hefner, with just a dash of Ron Popeil's flair for late-night commercials thrown in for good measure. Fresh from his stint in a Nevada jail, Francis immediately put out an offer to have former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's prostitute pose nude for his new magazine, only to learn that he already had drunken party footage of her from years before. It's proof that Francis was a forward-thinking visionary eager to exploit the old school truism that bad things come to girls who get naked on spring break.